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This paper documents how extensive economic education can reduce the risk of getting into financial trouble by comparing people who enter business and economics programs with people who enter other higher education programs. To identify the causal effect, I exploit GPA admission thresholds that quasi-randomize applicants near the thresholds into different higher education programs. I find that admission to an economics program reduces the probability of loan default and delinquency by one half. This large reduction is associated with changes in financial behavior, but it is not associated with differences in the level or stability of people's income. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix , which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a young scientist in Brazil, my journey began with a modest education in a public school system that often lacked the resources needed to provide students with comprehensive support. However, with persistence and determination, I successfully gained admission to the University of São Paulo, a prestigious institution and one of the top universities in Latin America. My research focuses on the relationship between the nervous and immune systems in psychosis, a topic I am deeply passionate about. In this piece, I will discuss the systemic issues within the Brazilian education and research systems and delve deeper into my own challenges and achievements as a young scientist in Brazil, sharing insights that can inspire others in similar situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Admission to the university changes life conditions and thereby increases mental pressure. If the students cannot bear the psychological pressure of being a student, that may lead to suicide among the vulnerable persons. Therefore, in this research, we would like to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of suicide-related behaviors in Iranian students. Methods: This online, cross-sectional survey was performed from March 18 to April 15, 2023, in Iran. The questionnaires were completed by 2181 students. In this study, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4), Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), and Oslo Social Support Scale (OSSS-3) were used. Finally, we identified the factors associated with suicide-related behaviors using univariate and multiple regression. Results: The prevalence of suicidal behaviors in students was 57.95%. According to the results, male gender, marriage, having meaning in life, occasional smoking, sleeping after 1 a.m., and having social support were associated with a reduced risk of suicide. In addition, a history of sexual abuse, more anxiety, and higher perceived stress were associated with an increased risk of suicide. Conclusions: The prevalence of suicide-related behaviors in Iranian students was higher than expected. Urgent interventions should be considered to prevent students from committing suicide. Helping students find meaning in life, as well as eliminating the causes of students' anxiety and stress, may be effective in this respect. Additionally, teaching students how to control anxiety and stress may be helpful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the results of an experiment conducted with ChatGPT to see how its performance compares to human performance on tests that require specific knowledge and skills, such as university admission tests. We chose a general undergraduate admission test and two tests for admission to biomedical programs: the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), the Cambridge BioMedical Admission Test (BMAT), and the Italian Medical School Admission Test (IMSAT). In particular, we looked closely at the difference in performance between ChatGPT-4 and its predecessor, ChatGPT-3.5, to assess its evolution. The performance of ChatGPT-4 showed a significant improvement over ChatGPT-3.5 and, compared to real students, was on average within the top 10% in the SAT test, while the score in the IMSAT test granted admission to the two highest ranked Italian medical schools. In addition to the performance analysis, we provide a qualitative analysis of incorrect answers and a classification of three different types of logical and computational errors made by ChatGPT-4, which reveal important weaknesses of the model. This provides insight into the skills needed to use these models effectively despite their weaknesses, and also suggests possible applications of our analysis in the field of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs an interpretive argument framework to explore the disjuncture between the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and real‐life language practices, drawing on test‐takers' perceptions and lived language experiences in Australia. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 17 participants from diverse national backgrounds and academic disciplines within Australian higher education. The research aimed to understand their perspectives on the extent to which IELTS scores can be extrapolated to the target language use domain, as well as the factors affecting this generalisation process. The study reveals evidence of “disconnect” between IELTS scores and real‐world language use from two key perspectives: the external reality of English as a lingua franca and the internal nature of standardised testing based on “native speaker” English, as perceived by test‐takers. The findings reveal complexities associated with integrating English into daily use and communication for test‐takers, raising concerns about the role of IELTS as a gatekeeper of university admission in Australia and other Inner Circle countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University entrance test-takers are a vulnerable group of students transitioning from adolescence to youth, a peak time for adopting unhealthy behaviors. However, limited studies investigate substance use behaviors among this group. This study aimed to investigate the current (past 12 months) prevalence, associated risk factors, and geographic distribution of substance use behaviors, employing spatial analysis to identify regional disparities. A cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing convenience sampling in February 2024 among university entrance test-takers at Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh (N = 1485). Participants provided information on socio-demographics, admission-related, depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), and substance use. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were employed to explore significant associations, with spatial analysis using ArcGIS to map substance use across districts. About 20.8% reported smoking, 10.1% reported drug use, and 9.9% reported alcohol consumption over the past 12 months. Males exhibited higher rates of smoking (23.1% vs. 17.6%) and alcohol consumption (10% vs. 9.7%), while females reported slightly higher rates of drug use (10.2% vs. 10%). Being female (AOR = 0.56; 95% CI: 0.40–0.79; p = 0.001), living in rural areas (AOR = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.49–0.94; p = 0.020), having a higher monthly family income (AOR = 1.72; 95% CI: 1.01–2.91; p = 0.042), a history of physical illness (AOR = 2.65; 95% CI: 1.87–3.76; p < 0.001), being a repeat test-taker (AOR = 1.49; 95% CI: 1.08–2.05; p = 0.014), and satisfaction with previous mock tests (AOR = 1.66; 95% CI: 1.20–2.28; p = 0.002) were significant risk factors for smoking. For drug use, belonging to a joint family (AOR = 1.71; 95% CI: 1.08–2.71; p = 0.021), having a history of physical illness (AOR = 2.57; 95% CI: 1.64–4.02; p < 0.001), and satisfaction with previous mock tests (AOR = 1.84; 95% CI: 1.20–2.83; p = 0.005) increased the risk. Additionally, a history of physical illness (AOR = 5.12; 95% CI: 3.27–8.02; p < 0.001) and satisfaction with previous mock tests (AOR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.13–2.80; p = 0.013) were contributing factors to alcohol consumption. Spatial analyses indicated higher rates of substance use in border districts. The findings warrant targeted interventions, such as mental health support and substance use prevention programs, particularly in high-risk regions. By understanding the factors driving substance use, tailored strategies can be developed to reduce risk behaviors among university entrance test-takers, ultimately enhancing public health outcome in this vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the increasing importance of data analysis skills in college admission offices, highlighting the evolution of data usage over the years. Admission professionals now rely on data to track trends in applications, prospect queries, and financial aid needs. The ability to be data-informed is considered a crucial skill in the field, with AI emerging as a valuable tool for interpreting and managing the vast amounts of data available. However, concerns about maintaining a personal connection with students and avoiding bias in decision-making processes are also raised. [Extracted from the article]

This article shares an action research experience about teaching academic reading and writing in college admission courses. It involved the collaborative and interdisciplinary planning and implementation of several classroom proposals on academic literacies that integrated two curricular units of the same degree course. In parallel, class observations, teacher interviews, student surveys, and systematic instances of collective reflection were carried out. The findings show that interdisciplinary collaboration among teachers and the efforts to accompany the comprehension and production process of academic texts in shared classrooms improved student performance and increased at the same time the curricular integration and the construction of meaning for the participants. Likewise, the action-reflection recursion on their own practices improved the professionalization of the teaching staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the specific needs of students taking language exams for university entrance. Based on the experiences of the participants with the language exam, the article explores suggestions for future accommodations for special needs students. It also addresses the challenge of balancing standardization and individualization, an important consideration for the future development of language testing procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the agreement rates in the assessment of oral exams using the example of the DSH (German language proficiency test for university admission). The assessments of 53 individuals who participated in training workshops for examiners were analyzed. The results show a low level of agreement in the assessments, regardless of training measures and assessment methods. The study provides indications for improving the agreement of assessments, although the results cannot be directly transferred to the DSH. [Extracted from the article]

The article describes the growing popularity of Germany as a study destination for international students. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of foreign students has significantly increased in both bachelor's and master's programs over the past ten years. German is still the main language of instruction and everyday university life for many students. Proof of German language proficiency is a requirement for admission to studies. However, compared to domestic students, many international students drop out of their studies prematurely. Research into the causes is still in its early stages. A study shows that advanced German language skills have a positive impact on academic success. The German Language Examination for University Admission (DSH) is a test format that allows foreign applicants to demonstrate their language proficiency in German. The DSH consists of a written and an oral examination and is conducted by universities and study colleges. The Fachverband Deutsch als Fremd- und Zweitsprache (FaDaF) is responsible for the supervision of the DSH. In recent years, FaDaF has launched initiatives to ensure the quality of the DSH. This special issue presents current accompanying research on the DSH and covers various aspects such as item analysis, text difficulty, assessor agreement, and inclusion. [Extracted from the article]

University admission consultation is a professional service that assists students with the university application process. Typically, accessing this service entails exploring university websites, directly contacting faculty members and officers via phone calls or emails, and engaging educational intermediaries. University admission consultation is crucial for both students and institutions. However, conventional consultation methods face challenges such as time and spatial constraints, leading to a growing interest in utilizing chatbots for university admission consultation. In this study, we propose a novel approach that leverages generative pretrained transformer (ChatGPT 3.5) models and implements the retrieval-augmented generation technique using the LlamaIndex framework. To evaluate the effectiveness of this approach, we applied it to undergraduate admission data from three universities: a science and technology university in the United States, a comprehensive university in Kenya, and a comprehensive university in Hong Kong. We also gathered feedback from 53 high school students who tested the chatbot. The results demonstrated a significant improvement in average accuracy, from 41.4% with the ChatGPT 3.5 model to 89.5% with the proposed chatbot, with peak accuracy reaching 94.7%. User reviews also indicated a generally positive perception of the admission chatbot. This methodology has the potential to revolutionize university admissions by utilizing chatbots based on large language models with retrieval-augmented generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on two cases: Students for Fair Admissions vs. the University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, effectively prohibiting the use of race as one of many factors in college or university admissions decisions. To explore these two cases, we conducted a content analysis of the legal briefs, the final court ruling, concurrences, and dissents. In its ruling, the Court did not overturn precedents upholding affirmative action, but the majority interpreted those prior cases in such a way that makes it impossible to justify the use of race in college admissions. Although these cases are from the context of higher education, the ruling highlights the fragility of affirmative action generally and may challenge the legal and regulatory structure that underpins many other important civil rights issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yet the rationale behind the Supreme Court's affirmative action jurisprudence has so far completely omitted the substantial implications of social network discrimination: discrimination in which minorities suffer disadvantages in social and economic opportunities, all else equal, simply because their social group is smaller. This Article introduces social network discrimination, a phenomenon newly described in economics scholarship, to legal scholarship and by doing so challenges the perspective deeply held by many that race-blind (or "colorblind") policies inherently promote individual merit. Social network discrimination is important for the law insofar as it suggests that there may be a source of injustice that has not previously been considered by the courts. Since there may be new, previously unrecognized disadvantages for minority groups untied to past slavery or other historical injustices, the contemporary debate on affirmative action can be seen in a new light. In fact, this Article examines the question of whether remedying social network discrimination represents a new merit-based rationale for race-conscious policy--a new compelling government interest both that is distinct from diversity and that survives the Court's holdings in SFFA that invalidated the Harvard and UNC race-based admissions programs. Due to social network discrimination, race-based policies may serve as necessary correctives for present-day lapses in fairness--for persisting deviations from what people across the political spectrum would view as a just system of merit. This new source of disadvantage resides outside of existing jurisprudence as no courts have yet considered the legal implications of it. As such, this Article offers preliminary intellectual groundwork to practically design policy to remedy social network discrimination in ways that could survive the Supreme Court's strictest standards for constitutional review. The sweeping implications of social network discrimination extend well beyond the hot button issue of affirmative action--even beyond the boundaries of contemporary legal discourse--to challenge basic conceptions of "equal opportunity" that are foundational to America's national identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The Chinese government has implemented a series of special admission policies in recent years to promote higher education equity. One of the key approaches is the ‘Rural Students Quota Plan’, which requires elite universities to enrol a certain number of rural students from disadvantaged social and economic backgrounds each year. This study adopted qualitative methods to explore the experiences of these students, focusing on their emotional journeys after admission to elite universities. In this project, 32 rural students from R University were invited to participate in semi‐structured interviews. After thematic analysis, this paper further focuses on the systematic presentation and in‐depth analysis of ten of these Quota Plan students' university experiences to carefully delve into their emotional journeys while integrating the narratives of other participants as background data into the analysis. Drawing on Bourdieu's conceptual tools, this study highlights how emotional struggles such as the sense of feeling lost and inferior are shaped by external social structures and the elite university field. The study argues that as elite universities strive to enrol more rural students, mechanisms must be put in place to better support rural students in their adaptation and integration throughout the higher education process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on Bangladeshi university entrance test-taking students mental health problems and explores the geographical distribution of these problems using GIS technique. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1523 university entrance test-taking students. Data were collected on participants' socio-demographic characteristics, COVID-19-related factors, admission tests, depression, and anxiety. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were performed using SPSS software. GIS mapping was used to visualize the distribution of mental health problems across districts using ArcGIS. The study found that the prevalence rates of depression and anxiety among university entrance examinees were 53.8% and 33.2%, respectively. Males exhibited higher rates of depression and anxiety compared to females, while repeat test-taking students were more susceptible to these mental health issues compared to first-time test-takers. Factors such as urban residence, personal/familial COVID-19 infections, and COVID-19 deaths in close relationships were associated with increased mental health problems. District-based distribution showed no significant variation in depression, but anxiety varied significantly. Post-hoc GIS analysis revealed variations in the distribution of depression and anxiety among males, as well as variations in anxiety distribution based on student status across districts. This study emphasizes the high prevalence of depression and anxiety among university entrance examinees, emphasizing the importance of addressing mental health risks in this population. It also suggests the need for reforms in the university entrance test-taking system to reduce psychological problems and advocates for a more inclusive approach to student admissions to alleviate mental health burdens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the impact of the war on the education system in Ukraine, following the Russian invasion of February 2022, with millions of students being forced to flee for safety to foreign countries, and millions of others remaining in danger on the territory of Ukraine. It addresses different modes of delivery, changes to education legislation, the 2022 university admission campaign, and international support. Despite the state of war and economic problems, the digital transformation of Ukrainian education continues. The paper utilises quantitative and qualitative data. Methods of generalisation and grouping are applied to classify problems: socio-psychological, economic, technological, organisational, communication, and methodological, as well as such urgent needs as the availability of a safe physical space in educational facilities, development of response procedures and behaviour patterns in emergencies, psychological support, a flexible mode of delivery, technical support of the teaching-learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a variety of economic situations discrete agents choose one resource among several available resources and, once admitted to the resource of choice, divide it among fellow agents admitted there. The amount of the resource an agent gets is proportional to her relative ability to acquire this particular resource, what we refer to as an agent's weight at the resource. The relevant applications include students self-selecting into colleges, politicians self-selecting into races, and athletes self-selecting into teams. We find that this game has a pure-strategy Nash equilibrium in at least three special cases: 1) when agents have the same weight at each resource, 2) when all resources are the same, 3) when there are only two resources. We also show that this game always has an approximate Nash equilibrium when the number of players is large. Existence in the general case remains an open problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sample of 700 undergraduate university students throughout the US completed an online survey about their attitudes answering questions about their sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity (SSOGI) on their university admission form. This study examined differences between cisgender and transgender and gender diverse students in attitudes related to answering sex assigned at birth and gender identity questions, and between heterosexual students and students of diverse sexual orientations in attitudes related to answering sexual orientation questions. Overall, students indicated positive attitudes about answering SSOGI questions on their university application form, but attitudes toward sexual orientation questions were less positive. Differences were found in question/answer choice understanding (gender identity and sexual orientation), ease of answering (sex assigned at birth), offensiveness in asking (sex assigned at birth), privacy concerns (sex assigned at birth), comfort in answering (sex assigned at birth and sexual orientation), confidentiality concerns (gender identity), and importance of asking (sex assigned at birth and sexual orientation). Findings demonstrate that most respondents held positive attitudes about answering SSOGI questions and that communicating to LGBTQ+ applicants the importance of and privacy protections associated with answering SSOGI questions on university application forms might be important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although vaccination requirements have been a mainstay of university admissions, the recent shift in vaccination and other preventative measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 has been met with resistance. Reviewing the vaccination literature, there has been an apparent shift in support for university vaccinations, which is largely a result of the politicized climate surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a mixed-methods analysis, this study examines how type of institution and location variables affect public and private universities implementation of vaccination mandates and other preventative measures. Data indicate that, similar to other studies, politics matter and higher institutions are finding themselves at odds with state governments in which campus and community safety is not the primary concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings of a Canada based multi-institutional study designed to investigate the relationships between admissions criteria, in-program assessments, and performance on licensing exams. The study's objective is to provide valuable insights for improving educational practices across different institutions. Data were gathered from six medical schools: McMaster University, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Queen's University, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, and Western University. The dataset includes graduates who undertook the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part 1 (MCCQE1) between 2015 and 2017. The data were categorized into five distinct sections: demographic information as well as four matrices: admissions, course performance, objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), and clerkship performance. Common and unique variables were identified through an extensive consensus-building process. Hierarchical linear regression and a manual stepwise variable selection approach were used for analysis. Analyses were performed on data set encompassing graduates of all six medical schools as well as on individual data sets from each school. For the combined data set the final model estimated 32% of the variance in performance on licensing exams, highlighting variables such as Age at Admission, Sex, Biomedical Knowledge, the first post-clerkship OSCE, and a clerkship theta score. Individual school analysis explained 41–60% of the variance in MCCQE1 outcomes, with comparable variables to the analysis from of the combined data set identified as significant independent variables. Therefore, strongly emphasising the need for variety of high-quality assessment on the educational continuum. This study underscores the importance of sharing data to enable educational insights. This study also had its challenges when it came to the access and aggregation of data. As such we advocate for the establishment of a common framework for multi-institutional educational research, facilitating studies and evaluations across diverse institutions. This study demonstrates the scientific potential of collaborative data analysis in enhancing educational outcomes. It offers a deeper understanding of the factors influencing performance on licensure exams and emphasizes the need for addressing data gaps to advance multi-institutional research for educational improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The recruitment of undergraduate students within English universities is of vital importance to both the academic success and the financial stability of the organisation. Despite the primacy of the task, there has been a dearth of research looking at related performance and how to ensure that the process is optimised. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of variation both within a university and between different universities. The reliance that individual programmes and/or universities place on the Clearing process is key; given its uncertainty, resource demands and timing shortly before students take up their places. Design/methodology/approach: The Nomogramma di Gandy diagrammatical approach utilises readily available data to analyse universities' performance in recruiting students to different programmes, and the degree to which they each rely of the Clearing process. Inter-university performance was investigated on a whole-student intake basis for a sample of English universities, representative of type and region. Findings: The study found that there were disparate patterns for the many programmes within the pilot university and also disparate patterns between different types of universities across England. Accordingly, universities should internally benchmark their programmes to inform both strategic and tactical decision-making. Similarly, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service benchmarking inter-university patterns could inform the overall sector. Originality/value: The approach and findings provide lessons for analysing student recruitment which could be critical to universities' academic and financial health, in an increasingly competitive environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The underrepresentation of people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds in geology, geophysics, and other STEM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is well documented in the United States. Only two universities out of about 107 HBCUs have geology and geophysics degree programs, even though there are over 400 universities in the United States that offer geology and geophysics degree programs. The low presence of these degree programs in HBCUs is a major barrier that has visible consequences. For example, Blacks and other CLD individuals are forced to be intellectually unchallenged, suppressed, and underutilized. Other consequences include low opportunities in college admission, employment, promotion, and life success. How can this problem be solved? This article addresses this question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do Americans have a right to believe that the country is making racial progress? Conservatives sometimes answer yes and argue that the country is achieving Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of a color‐blind society. Afropessimists answer no and point to the continuing problems of police terror, mass incarceration, and poverty among Black Americans. This article unearths King's 1952 term paper on the pragmatists to reveal an early engagement with William James’ notion of the will to believe. The article interprets King as articulating a right to dream of a just and loving world to maximize the chance of the community actualizing it. The conclusion argues that the idea of a right to dream helps people become energized rather than despondent in the aftermath of the Supreme Court case prohibiting race‐conscious college admissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scrutiny about and controversy regarding the use of college admissions tests have increased since COVID‐19 eliminated mass face‐to‐face testing. At that time, many selective colleges chose to make their admissions decisions without using such tests. More recently, the controversy has been sustained as some selective colleges and universities have reinstated requiring test scores. These tests, primarily the ACT and SAT, have received empirical support but also have faced substantial criticism from test critics and researchers. This paper examines contributions of admissions tests for predicting college outcomes in the presence of additional information available for making college decisions. We investigate relations of ACT tests with academic outcomes for four successive (2011–2014) first‐year cohorts at a large, moderately selective Midwestern Research 1 university. Analyses examine how strongly ACT college admissions tests are related to short‐ and long‐term college success for students controlling for their backgrounds (citizenship, race/ethnicity, first‐generation, sex, socio‐economic status). ACT tests contributed modestly to the prediction of first‐year performance. However, with first year college GPA included, ACT tests failed to add to the prediction of GPA in years 2, 3, and 4, and to prediction of dropout and graduation. These findings inform conversations about the use of college admissions tests post‐COVID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides a summary of various research papers and studies related to education and child development. The topics covered include psychology teaching and learning, social-emotional learning programs, beliefs about effort among Chinese students, metacognition instruction, storytelling competency development, the relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health, challenges faced by school counselors in Taiwan, and the development of scales to measure learning motivation, attitudes towards pets, and academic procrastination. The studies highlight the importance of effective teaching methods, support for students' well-being, and the role of various factors in child development. [Extracted from the article]

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Universities actively promote themselves to potential students, control admissions and deliver programs of study. For most students globally, there are financial costs to attending university. At the extreme end of failure are students who receive 'zero-fails': they enrol, do not submit any assessments, and receive a mark of 0 out of 100. A quantitative descriptive analysis was performed and provides student performance details for bachelor-level students enrolled in a large, regional Australian university from 2019–2021. At a unit level, zero-fails accounted for 20% of all failing grades. There was a significant increase in zero-fail grades in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019. However, zero-fails are not entirely a COVID-19 phenomenon. Only 8% of students who received any zero-fail grade in their commencing semester of study continued onto their second semester and passed most of their units. We argue universities operating in countries with deferred payment schemes such as Australia and the United Kingdom have a responsibility to track unit failure in finer detail and consider ways to mitigate debt associated with students who are clearly not receiving value from their educational experience. This must be done as we continue to expand higher education opportunities to students from non-traditional backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The careful analysis of students' data can help to know the behaviour and performance of the students. With the support of technology-enhanced learning platforms, we can use the available educational data to analyze students' academic elegance, solve their problems, improve the learning environment, and allow statistical decision-making. Therefore, we presented a Butterfly-based Deep Neural Framework (BbDNF) to analyze the student data to predict academic performance for college admissions. Initially, the students are collected from the OULA dataset and trained in the system. The collected data are preprocessed to produce noise and error-free data. Furthermore, the preprocessed data is fed into the feature selection phase to select the relevant features utilizing the Butterfly fitness function. Moreover, they executed the predictions phase to analyze the students' performance and categorize them. The proposed system is implemented in the Python tool. The comparison of the suggested system's performance with the other existing system is made in the name of f1-score, precision, accuracy and recall, and the overall efficiency of the designed system is studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asian American opponents of affirmative action have received both credit and blame for their pivotal role in toppling racial preferences in university admissions in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA). Allied conservatives highlighted evidence of discrimination against Asian American applicants as a compelling reason to dismantle affirmative action; liberals either denied this discrimination existed or tolerated it as an acceptable cost of helping other minority applicants. But largely unacknowledged is the precipitating history of the Supreme Court's marginalization of Asian American applicants and its decades of tacit approval of their exclusion from affirmative action programs. This unwritten history is essential to understanding how the Court's affirmative action decisions from Bakke to Fisher contributed to the eventual demise of racial preferences in admissions. As such, it is a chapter of Asian American and affirmative action history that needs telling. This intertwined history also illuminates a path for improving diversity on college campuses in a post-affirmative action era: the consideration of volunteered immigration histories in the admissions process. Immigration histories are not limited by race or nationality and offer a more specific, nuanced, and personal window into the incredible diversity within each ethnic group than broad demographic categories. As a case in point, Asian Americans constitute a highly diverse demographic; yet under previous affirmative action programs, their diversity was largely invisibilized as they were lumped together as an overrepresented monolithic minority. Allowing applicants to reflect on their personal or family immigration histories would reveal diversity within other ethnicities as well, while abiding by SFFA's newly articulated equality principles--equality of opportunity and equality of treatment across races. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public significance statement Previous research suggests that first‐generation (first‐gen) students may be at risk for lower academic performance, higher dropout rates, and lower graduation rates compared to their continuing‐generation (continuing‐gen) peers. The current study analyzes academic success (average yearly GPA) and retention/completion rates (cumulative dropouts and graduates) for four successive (2011–2014) entering first‐year cohorts at a large Midwestern Research 1 University. Across all cohorts, academic success varied by first‐gen status, with continuing‐gen students having significantly higher GPAs each year. A significantly greater percentage of first‐gen students dropped out each year. First‐gen status was also negatively related to graduation rates at 4, 5, and 6 years after college entry. Additional analyses disaggregated the data by seven colleges of admission with semi‐independent admissions policies. First‐gen status was more strongly related to academic success and retention for students in the following colleges: education, biological sciences, liberal arts, and science and engineering. Overall, findings suggest that first‐gen students are at higher risk of low performance and completion than their continuing‐gen peers. Institutions need to examine why and how they are contributing to less successful outcomes for first‐gen students, and if programming could lessen these group differences.The current study finds that first‐generation undergraduate students are at higher risk of low academic performance and dropout compared to their continuing‐generation peers. Differences were also seen by college of admission, with some colleges having larger gaps between these groups than others. Institutions need to examine why and how they are contributing to these outcomes for first‐generation students, and if programming could lessen these group differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of college entrance exams for facilitating admission decisions become controversial, and the central argument is around the fairness of test scores. The Kuwait University English Aptitude Test (KUEAT) is a high-stakes test, but very few studies have examined the psychometric quality of the scores for this national-level assessment. This study illustrates how measurement approaches can be used to examine the fairness issues in educational testing. Through a modern view of fairness, we assess the internal and external bias of KUEAT scores using differential item functioning analysis and differential prediction analysis, respectively, and provide a comprehensive fairness argument for KUEAT scores. The analysis for examining the internal evidence of bias was based on 1790 examinees' KUEAT scores in November 2018. KUEAT scores and first-year college GPAs of 4033 students enrolled in KU were used for assessing the external evidence of bias. Results revealed many items showing differential item functioning across student subpopulation groups (i.e., nationality, gender, high school majors, and high school types). Meanwhile, KUEAT scores also predicted college performance differentially by different student subgroups (i.e., nationality, high school majors, and high school types). Discussion and implications on the fairness issues of college entrance tests in Kuwait are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate long-term impacts of exposure to four episodes of haze pollution on national university admission outcomes in Singapore. We find that compared to the unexposed groups, those who were exposed in-utero during the haze episodes of April 1977 and October 1983 obtained significantly lower admission scores and faced lower admission rates to university, with more severe effects for females. However, we do not detect negative effects among those who were exposed in the haze episodes of October 1991, August to October 1994 and August to October 1997 – which were arguably more severe pollution events. These findings present a more nuanced view of the long-term effects of exposure air pollution: while results from the first two episodes show that the long-term impacts are persistent over time, results from the latter three episodes suggest that negative impacts can possibly be mitigated due to economic development and protective measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the prerequisites needed for university admission in France, that implementation of Parcoursup has revealed. Now, when applicants express their wishes for training courses, academic teams use data such as academic results, recommendations from previous institutions, or motivated training projects, to rank applications. The study focuses on the prerequisites defined by the academic teams for bachelor's degrees, based on information from a French university in 2020. The prerequisites are analyzed through three stages: the public report from Parcoursup is used for the first stage, the configuration carried out by each program in the decision-support tool used to rank candidates is examined in the second stage, and an attempt to compare the two sources of information on the prerequisites set by the academic teams for bachelor's degrees is made in the third stage. While grades play a significant role, the factors are various, ranging from academic skills to activities and interests, as well as civic commitment. Depending on the program, the criteria vary, from narrowly defined prerequisites to broader ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Admission to selective colleges has grown more competitive, yielding student bodies that are unrepresentative of the U.S. population. Admission officers report using sorting (e.g., GPA, standardized tests) and concertedly cultivated (e.g., extracurricular activities) and ascriptive status (e.g., whether an applicant identifies as a member of a racially minoritized group) criteria to make decisions. Using latent class analysis, we identified three groupings of institutions based on the admission criteria they claim to value. Public institutions largely practiced a "coarse sieve" approach that relied on sorting criteria. Some private institutions practiced "fine sieve" admissions by emphasizing concertedly cultivated and ascriptive status criteria. A few privates employed the "double sieve" that combined sorting and concertedly cultivated criteria. Results illuminate the shape of the admissions sieve, identifying institutional contexts that inform the admissions practices selective colleges claim to use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the significance of accurate and current information for college admission counselors. It emphasizes the need for structures that allow counselors to access information about academic programs, student services, and the strengths of institutions. The article acknowledges the challenges faced by high school counselors in obtaining information and suggests ways for colleges to efficiently provide information to counselors. It underscores the importance of providing factual and positive information to prospective students and their families. The article also discusses the challenges faced by high school counselors in gathering and sharing information about colleges and universities with their students, and suggests strategies such as meeting with various departments, conducting interviews, and utilizing centralized platforms for information sharing. [Extracted from the article]

This inquiry investigates how college recruiters' understandings of diversity are represented and discussed in their work. Interwoven within this study is an examination of power through the lens of Discourse Theory and Critical Discourse Analysis. Findings reveal how recruiters exercise power to produce either transformative or oppressive realities and futures for those whom they deemed to be diverse prospective students. The analysis also demonstrates the ways in which discursive uses of language and power can privilege certain diverse identities over others, thereby limiting equitable access to postsecondary education. This article concludes by highlighting recruitment strategies that will empower prospective students through the admissions process in order to help them learn 'the secret knock' to gain access to higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serendipity, curiosity, and lived experience shaped my career as a social demographer and my interests in social policy. I transitioned from the humanities to sociology and demography as a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, where I discovered my affinity for quantitative research. My interest in Latin American demography gave way to domestic concerns as new opportunities arose at each of the three institutions where I have had the privilege to work—the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Chicago, and Princeton University. That all three institutions hosted vibrant demography and policy programs facilitated my research about the Hispanic population, family structure, urban poverty, college access, and myriad aspects of socioeconomic inequality and immigrant integration. Superb colleagues and talented graduate student collaborators deserve major credit for my career accomplishments. I attribute numerous opportunities to serve on philanthropic and corporate boards to the strength of weak ties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese students studying abroad have been increasing rapidly in the past decades and become a significant financial contribution to receiving countries. Accordingly, understanding their enrollment choice is essential to facilitate college marketing and admission strategies. Though the decision process is believed to be different from domestic students, empirical analysis of Chinese students’ enrollment choices is still lacking. This paper fills the void by examining the influential factors of Chinese students’ enrollment choice with novel student-level data. We find that in addition to factors domestic students typically consider, such as financial aid and academic quality, Chinese students particularly emphasize college ranking, reputation, and location in their decision process. Furthermore, unlike domestic students who usually prefer colleges with proximity to home, Chinese students’ location preference is linked to job prosperity. We also find that the impact of the factors varies for students from different regions of China, which can be attributable to uneven economic development within the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse university admissions using a statistical discrimination model where students differ by ability and social group. In this university system, candidates are evaluated on the basis of their expected human capital, which includes both their innate abilities and the knowledge acquired during their schooling. Consequently, students determine their study effort based on the behaviour of universities. Interestingly, we find that students from a less advantaged group need a lower grade to gain admission to the best universities. If a university cannot discriminate between social groups, all students with the same grade will attend universities of the same quality, but with different levels of human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior to enrolling in an English as a medium of instruction (EMI) institution, students must show an English proficiency level through meeting a benchmark on a standard English proficiency test, which is typically aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Along with overall English proficiency, aural/written vocabulary level mastery could also predict students' success at EMI institutions, as students need adequate English vocabulary knowledge to comprehend lectures and course readings. However, aural/written vocabulary level mastery has yet to be clearly benchmarked to CEFR levels. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the correlations between students' aural/written vocabulary level mastery and their CEFR levels. Forty undergraduate students in a Macau EMI university were recruited to take one English proficiency test and two vocabulary level tests (i.e., Listening Vocabulary Levels Test (LVLT) and the Updated Vocabulary Levels Test (UVLT)). Correlation analyses were conducted to explore the relationship between students' CEFR levels and their mastery of listening and reading vocabulary levels. A positive correlation was found between students' CEFR levels and their mastery of receptive aural vocabulary levels (ρ = 0.409, p = 0.009). Furthermore, a statistically significant positive correlation was found between students' CEFR levels and their mastery of receptive written vocabulary levels (ρ = 0.559, p < 0.001). Although positive correlations were observed, no clear pattern was identified regarding the relationship between students' CEFR levels and their mastery of aural/written vocabulary levels. Regression analyses were further conducted to determine the extent to which the combination of receptive aural and written vocabulary knowledge predicts the CEFR levels. The results indicated that the regression model that included only UVLT scores better predicted the CEFR levels. Given the positive correlations observed between students' CEFR levels and their mastery of vocabulary levels, this study's findings suggest the inclusion of aural/written vocabulary levels as additional indicators for ensuring student academic success in EMI institutions. Implications for EMI universities on student admissions, classroom teaching, and provision of additional English courses were provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This survey article provides insights regarding the future of affirmative action by analyzing the implementation methods and the empirical evidence on the use of placement quotas in the Brazilian higher education system. All federal universities have required income and racial‐based quotas in Brazil since 2012. Affirmative action in federal universities is uniformly applied across the country, which makes evaluating its effects particularly valuable. Affirmative action improves the outcomes of targeted students. Specifically, race‐based quotas raise the share of Black students in federal universities, an effect not observed with income‐based quotas alone. Affirmative action has downstream positive consequences for labor market outcomes. The results suggest that income and race‐based quotas beneficiaries experience substantial long‐term welfare benefits. There is no evidence of mismatching or negative consequences for targeted students' peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I share ways in which my professional journey, from admissions and enrollment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, intersect with my evolution as a scholar-practitioner through CANDEL, the doctorate in educational leadership program at the University of California Davis. I further share how I have leveraged my experience in the EdD program as a scholar-practitioner to challenge systems of higher education through storytelling and counter narratives as a means to reroute narratives that institutions create around the experiences of marginalized communities, including the African diaspora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work focuses on Generalized Linear Mixed Models that incorporate spatiotemporal random effects structured via Factor Model (FM) with nonlinear interaction between latent factors. A central aspect is to model continuous responses from Normal, Gamma, and Beta distributions. Discrete cases (Bernoulli and Poisson) have been previously explored in the literature. Spatial dependence is established through Conditional Autoregressive (CAR) modeling for the columns of the loadings matrix. Temporal dependence is defined through an Autoregressive AR(1) process for the rows of the factor scores matrix. By incorporating the nonlinear interaction, we can capture more detailed associations between regions and factors. Regions are grouped based on the impact of the main factors or their interaction. It is important to address identification issues arising in the FM, and this study discusses strategies to handle this obstacle. To evaluate the performance of the models, a comprehensive simulation study, including a Monte Carlo scheme, is conducted. Lastly, a real application is presented using the Beta model to analyze a nationwide high school exam called ENEM, administered between 2015 and 2021 to students in Brazil. ENEM scores are accepted by many Brazilian universities for admission purposes. The real analysis aims to estimate and interpret the behavior of the factors and identify groups of municipalities that share similar associations with them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This keynote address explores the history and role of college math requirements with a focus on ensuring math courses serve to expand students’ horizons, rather than serve as gatekeepers. It discusses the advent of general education math courses, which brought more students into math departments, which ultimately contributed to broadening the scope of the courses to align with more students’ interests and majors, since their purpose was to advance quantitative reasoning, not mathematics skill per se. It also examines several practices to address calculus’ gatekeeping role: revising placement practices and prerequisites, redesigning courses, and updating instruction and assessment practices. Lastly, it considers the role of college admission requirements in perpetuating an overemphasis on calculus coursetaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity justification for race affirmative action recognized in the Bakke-Grutter-Fisher line of cases survived the SFFA v. Harvard ruling. However, the diversity rationale is scathed enough that universities should end the nearly forty-year-old practice of relying exclusively on the institution’s educational need for diversity to satisfy strict scrutiny. This Article argues that the SFFA v. Harvard ruling is a wake-up call for universities to understand and be prepared to invoke other defenses for race affirmative action in college admissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]